New League Proposals
by Michael Weyer
Summary: A few ideas for other types of LXG groupings for Old West, Pulp era and Devil workers. Feel free to read and maybe even use if you want or at least review.
1. Wild West

**So here's the deal. I'm planning The Unit Extradionare, an attempt at an LXG type story and have big plans. But I was thinking on other types of possible pairings and groupings that might work out. So if any of these inspire, go ahead and use them, I won't mind at all and even be happy about it. **

**And I don't own anything so don't sue me.**

**Let's kick it off with an Old West vibe I'm surprised hasn't been taken already…**

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_We see vistas of the classic Old West, from plains to deserts to towns filled with people going about their regular lives. _

**"The West," an announcer booms. "A time of great opportunity and great adventure to those willing to brave its dangers. But to some, that opportunity is for dishonorable means."**

_We see gangs of armed bandits cause havoc in towns, firing up shops and streets and a bank building being blown apart. A group seems to be led by a dwarf with an evil smile as he directs their actions._

**"A danger is rising that threatens this frontier and those within it. A dark alliance that promises to wage war and bring lawlessness to the land forever."**

_There are glimpses of troops in armor attacking a train on horseback as well as what looks like a large mechanical transport making its way through the desert._

**"To combat this threat, heroes are needed. Men of honor, men who know the West, men who can fight it on their own terms. Men who are in the pay of the government with all their resources…"**

_A train stops and two men get out, one tall, lean and handsome, the other more inquisitive but cheerful, both in nice suits. _

**"Men who act like they hold allegiances only to themselves but are willing to fight the good fight…"**

_A man is thrown out a bar window, landing on his back and scurrying to his feet to get away, cards flying behind him. _

**"Men who know the way the West works…"**

_A man clad completely in black giving a thin smile as he puts down a card with the logo of a chess knight and the words "Have Gun, Will Travel."_

**"Men who fight for justice even while keeping their identities unknown…"**

_We briefly glimpse a man in a black cape and wide-brimmed hat using a bullwhip to swing away from a wall which carries a single mark on it: Z._

**"Men who fight in secret to protect others…"**

_A man in a blue denim suit, white hat and black mask is seen astride a magnificent white stallion. Behind him is a somber Indian on his own brown steed. _

**James West. Artemus Gordon. Brett Maverick. Paladin. Zorro. The Lone Ranger. Tonto. Together, they will bring order to the lawless and justice to those who need it. They are the Wild Bunch. **

_Montage: Maverick in a high stakes poker game. _

_West pulling some hidden weapons out of the train's main room._

_Gordon in a disguise as a Southern landowner._

_Zorro dueling a handful of men at once._

_Paladin firing his gun as he races through a ranch. _

_Tonto firing an arrow with a fiery tip that sets off an explosion._

_The Lone Ranger in classic pose and the "Hi-yo Silver!" yell._

**Title: The Wild Bunch. Making the West Truly Wild.**

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**A quick note on who's who:**

**Wild Wild West: Forget that God-awful 1999 Will Smith movie. The TV show was a wonderfully inventive program. The idea was that the West was in constant danger from mad scientists, foreign agents and more and so President Grant sent two special agents to deal with them. James West was a tough fighter, always going into action even while wearing the tightest pair of pants ever seen on TV. Gordon was the brains, a genius who was always coming up with before-his-time inventions and ideas and was a master of disguise. They traveled in a special luxury train car packed with hidden weapons, battling various villains. The most famous was Miguelito Loveless, the greatest mad scientist in TV history, a Mexican dwarf constantly using high-tech inventions to try and take over the nation. **

**Maverick: The 1994 Mel Gibson movie wasn't bad but this is the classic TV series with James Gardner as Brett Maverick. An expert card shark and a rogue, he was always getting into trouble, often seeming cowardly and apt to run but able to use his quick wits and humor to fight for those in need…any maybe pocket some cash too. **

**Paladin: Star of "Have Gun Will Travel", his real name was never revealed, an educated gentleman in black with the symbol of a chess piece knight on his holster. He would take on jobs for money but usually to help those who needed it and would decide whether to shoot to kill or wound. Interestingly, actor Richard Boone would later star in the Western "Hec Ramsey" as an elder gunman who at point is revealed as the elder Paladin.**

**Zorro: After years away, Diego De La Vega returned to his home in California to discover that the corrupt government was taxing the citizens and pocketing the money for themselves. Wanting to fight but knowing that acting out himself would put his loved ones in danger, Diego decided to play the Fox (which Zorro translates as). He pretended to be an idle fop more interested in enjoying his money than work, the last person anyone would think to be an adventurer. At night, he would don a black costume and mask, armed with his sword and bullwhip and fight as Zorro, leaving his famous "Z" mark wherever he went. Some versions (like the Disney TV show) added in his servant Bernado, a mute who pretended to be deaf to help Diego gain information.**

**The Lone Ranger: For the four or five who don't know…Six Texas Rangers were caught in an ambush by bandits. Only one survived, rescued and nursed to health by an Indian named Tonto. They made six graves so the criminals would think all the men died and the survivor took on a mask, denim suit and called himself the Lone Ranger. He owned a silver mine he used to finance his battle against crime and made himself his trademark silver bullets. Astride his steed, Silver, he would race about the territories, recognized the governor as a deputized agent, never killing and always polite but still able to use fisticuffs to stop various criminals. He was famous for being often mistaken for an outlaw himself but was recognized at the end of every episode just as he took off into the distance with a "HI-Yo, Silver, Away!" The current comic book has helped give it a more realistic edge.**

**So feel free to use. **


	2. Pulp Era

**Now here's one I'm surprised really hasn't been worked up yet by anyone…**

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_A sweeping look at New York City where the Empire State Building dominates. We zoom in on the top floor of a penthouse where a muscular man faces away and a trilling sound fills the air. _

**"A time of rising darkness…"**

_People in 1930's clothes mill about as we see a newspaper showing it is October of 1939 and the Germans are on the move in Europe._

_"_**The Greatest War is about to begin…"**

_A platoon of soldiers march through a street as a shadowy figure watches._

**"But another war is about to be brought to America's shores."**

_A handsome but cold man is seen marching in a cloak followed by a beautiful woman. They march through a factory where a bevy of advanced weapons and tanks are being prepared._

**"A war that will strike from within and bring our nation to its knees."**

_Men in black uniforms attack Times Square, causing havoc. Buildings erupt in flames as people run in terror._

**"To combat this threat, a team is needed. A team of men who can fight the wars no one else can."**

_We show the muscular man from before, his body physically perfect and tanned nearly golden with a tight skullcap._

**"It requires the Man of Bronze…"**

_A figure sweeps down an alleyway, dressed in black suit, his cloak billowing behind him, face concealed by a wide-brimmed hat and a scarf around his face. As he goes, he lets out a chilling cackle. _

**"One who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men…"**

_Close in on a man sitting on top of a throne dressed in a purple body suit with a black mask and a skull emblem on both his belt and his ring. _

**"A mortal man who is known as the Ghost Who Walks…"**

_A figure streaks through the air with a rocket pack blasting away, his face concealed by a bold helmet._

**"One who can take to the skies…"**

_A man in a black suit and mask pummeling some crooks. _

**"One who preys upon the criminal element with their own brutality…"**

_Two men do battle with some criminals, one dressed in a green suit and a gas mask. The other is an Asian man in a chauffeur's outfit with his own black mask._

**"Two who fight for justice by pretending to be criminals…"**

_A look at a vast garage of vehicles with the group choosing between them all._

**"Doc Savage. The Shadow. The Phantom. The Rocketeer. The Spider. The Green Hornet and Kato. They are the Secret Soldiers, our only hope."**

_Doc is seen in his laboratory working on a fantastic experiment before attacking a pack of criminals. _

_The Shadow floats into darkness before firing his twin pistols at enemies._

_The Rocketeer blasts out of a warehouse, smashing through the glass roof into the skies._

_The Spider tackles a half dozen enemies while on top of a tower, sending one flying over the edge._

_The Green Hornet sprays a gas at a guard while Kato subdues the other. _

_The Phantom rides a horse through the streets of New York as the Rocketeer is chased by a fighter plane. _

_We see a shadowy figure, a tall Asian with long mustache and longer fingernails watching the chaos unfold. _

**"Fighting for the light while working from the shadows."**

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**Personally, my fave of the bunch as I'm a pulp guy at heart and think these guys are a mix of the best of the era. Who's Who you ask?**

**Doc Savage: The greatest star of the pulp novel era, Clark Savage Jr. was raised by his scientist father to excel at all manner of actions. Brilliant in nearly every field of science, he was also physically perfect with tight muscles and hair, skin and eyes so golden it led to his name "The Man of Bronze." Aided by a secret mine of gold in the Amazon, Doc resides at the top of the Empire State Building, waging war on evildoers but also not killing, using gas pellets and even giving captured criminals a special operation to remove all evil intent from their minds and retrain them to be law-abiding citizens. Strict and cool, keeping to himself, he handles larger than life enemies, aided by the Famous Five (especially Monk and Ham) who follow him on his adventures. **

**The Shadow: The radio show and the 1994 movie changed it a bit but the original origin was that Kent Allard was a former fighter pilot who later went into crime. He managed to bounce back, taught the ways of hypnotism that could allow him to cloud men's minds and essentially become invisible to others. He adopted the identity of Lamont Cranston, a wealthy New Yorker. Cranston allows him to do it, traveling the world as he sees the good Allard does (not to mention Allard point blank threatening to kill Cranston and take over for good) although the two do sometimes work together to switch identities. As the cloaked and hooded Shadow, Cranston battles crime leaving behind his cackling laugh and working with a network of agents throughout the city to keep his adventures up.**

**The Phantom: The underrated 1996 movie did a good job bringing it to life. In the 17****th**** century, a young boy was the sole survivor of a pirate attack that killed his father. Washing up on the shores of Africa, he was taken in by a friendly tribe who taught him the ways of the jungle and how to work with animals. The boy took a vow that he would dedicate his life to fighting evil and his sons would follow and their sons as well. Thus the mantle of the Phantom has been passed down, father to son, for 20 generations. What's notable is that because all the Phantoms wear the same purple body suit, black mask and belt and ring with skull emblems, the natives of the area believe it's been the same man all these centuries, leading to his name "The Ghost Who Walks." The 1930's Phantom, Kit Walker, splits time between the jungle and America with his love Diane Palmer, aided by his wolf Bandit and his twin pistols to battle all sorts of evil.**

**The Rocketeer: The 1991 movie was another great gem for bringing this comic to life. Cliff Secord was a pilot in Los Angeles who found a rocket pack left behind by some gangsters trying to escape the FBI. (While the movie had it that the rocket was invented by Howard Hughes, the original comic hinted it was actually Doc Savage who made it, which could be fun to play with). With the help of his mechanic friend Peevy, Cliff designed a helmet to help steer the pack and planned to use it to be a novelty act but ended up battling Nazis out to steal it. The movie ended with the hint Cliff could go back to his crime fighting life which I imagine happening here. **

**The Spider: Richard Wentworth was a wealthy socialite and amateur detective who lived a double life as the Spider, a brutal vigilante who had no qualms killing those he felt deserved it. His fiancée, Nita Van Sloan, aided him as well as his servants, Ram Singh, Ronald Jackson and Harold Jenkyns who all helped his relentless war on crime, his victims branded with the symbol of a scarlet spider.**

**The Green Hornet: To the police and public, the Hornet is a criminal mastermind constantly battling other crooks to eliminate the competition. In truth, however, he fights for justice. Brett Reid was the great-grand-nephew of the Lone Ranger, a publisher tired of the crime published in his newspaper and decided to adopt his own masked identity. When he was mistaken for a criminal, he decided to use that to get information on crooks and establish more fear, even going so far as to get cuts on the action and give the money to charity. He was aided by Kato, his Japanese chauffer who was an expert martial artist, the two using the Black Beauty car to fight with the Hornet usually using gas to knock out criminals. **

**Again, feel free to use if you want. **


	3. The Devil's Agents

**A bit more modern here but this was the first of the bunch that hit me, a bit smaller but there is a link. **

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**"He has many forms…"**

_A montage of men, one debonair with gray hair and a wide smile; another more rough with dark brown hair and beard; another white-haired, older in black with a cane. _

**"But his name is known to all…"**

_The man walks, each time shifting between the faces while humming a tune. "Please allow me to introduce myself…I'm a man of wealth and taste…"_

**"But sometimes…there are some things even the Devil doesn't want to face…"**

_Shots of horrific demons wandering about, attacking innocents, people screaming as they face the horrors._

_The Devil smiling as he speaks. "There's a balance to the world, you know? And in order to keep things from going too wild, I have to do some…damage control. And that's where you all come in. You all owe me. Hell, most of you belong to me so I think you've got the best shot at making this work."_

_We see a hard-bitten man in a trenchcoat and five o'clock shadow examining a tattoo on his wrist. _

**"A cop who took justice into his own hand, now hunting for his redemption."**

_Another man in a cloak, younger but rumpled, lighting up a cigarette as he nonchalantly throws a fireball at a chasing demon._

**"One who has seen the dark side of the world and is determined never to go back."**

_A man on a motorcycle cursing as the sun goes down and flames start to flicker around him._

**"A daredevil who cannot escape his dark curse."**

_A young man in a work apron opening a box with a weary expression._

**"A slacker forced into a duty he never wanted but is unable to work out of."**

_A beautiful woman whose dress boots her ample bosom peers through a darkened house._

**"The Ghost Whisperer whose connection to the dead is turning even darker."**

_Through an alleyway creeps a monstrous figure, red-skinned with a craggy face marked with stubs where horns would be, a cigar in his lips. He is dressed in a long coat and pants, a large gun in one hand and his right fist a massive rocky lump. _

**"A creature of Hell who hunts his own kind."**

_On a rooftop we see a figure in a black and white costume with a form-fitting mask, a red cape billowing around him._

**"And a killer who seeks redemption for his dark soul."**

_The Devil smiling to them all. "Do this…and I might commute a few sentences here and there. Oh and you'll be stopping all life on Earth from ending too."_

**Ezekeil Stone. John Constantine. Johnny Blaze. Sam Oliver. Melinda Gordon. Hellboy. Spawn. The Damned Brigade, battling for the Devil but also for us all.**

_Montage of Stone firing his gun at some demons. _

_Constantine throwing out lightning with a loud cry._

_The Ghost Rider in full flaming glory roaring down a street, his chain whipping over his head. _

_Sam using what looks like a water hose on a demon with a terrified expression on his face._

_Melinda in the middle of a pentagram, howling out as spirits flow around her._

_Hellboy smashing a huge demon in the face with his right fist._

_Spawn flying down an alleyway with his own chains attacking an enemy. _

_Close-up on the Devil's wide grin. "Failure…is not an option for you here."_

**"All Hell is Coming Loose…unless they stop it."**

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**Who's Who:**

**Brimstone: In 1983, New York police detective Ezekiel Stone's wife was brutally raped. When the man went free on a technicality, Stone tracked him down and killed him, making it look like a drug overdose. A few months later, Stone was shot in the line of duty and for taking a life in cold blood was sentenced to Hell. In 1998, a massive break-out occurred as 113 of the worst souls escaped to Earth and the Devil, not liking the idea of anyone trying to beat him, offered Stone a second chance at life in return for sending the damned back. Stone now lives with an arcane tattoo for each soul on his body, mostly invulnerable to usual harm, his gun never running out of bullets as he hunts the escapes, destroying their eyes (the windows to the soul) to send them back and hope he can achieve redemption.**

**John Constantine: The Keanu Reeves movie wasn't that bad but the classic "Hellblazer" comic is better. John Constantine is an irreverent Englishman dressed in a trenchcoat and constantly smoking, a dark magician who usually puts himself over everyone else but still has a knack for helping people out. Troubled and maudlin but with a dry sense of humor, he knows the dark side of the world and is often a cynic but still unable to resist helping others out. He's known for his trickery as he once got himself cured of cancer by promising his soul to the three Lords of Hell so they either had to cure him or wage a war none could win. He's not exactly trustworthy but good for a fight. **

**Ghost Rider: The comic history is rather convoluted so the 2007 Nicholas Cage movie continuity might be better. Johnny Blaze was a daredevil motorcycle rider who learned his father had cancer. The Devil approached him offering a cure in exchange for Johnny's soul. He agreed and his father was cured only to die in an accident. Years later, the Devil forced Johnny to become his agent on Earth, the Ghost Rider. His powers only work at night and in the presence of evil as his body turns into a flaming skeleton in riding clothes with a chain that can be used as a whip and also emit flame. His cycle is transformed to reach ultra-high speeds and even run across water and up buildings. His most deadly weapon is the Penance State which makes the guilty feel all the pain they've given others a hundredfold. Johnny decides to use the curse to fight evil on his own, giving up his humanity to help others.**

**Reaper: On his 21****st**** birthday, Sam Oliver discovered his parents had sold his soul to the Devil before he was born. Now, the long-time slacker is forced to hunt down demons, using vessels that range from a dustbuster to a snow globe to trap them with the help of his goofy friend Socks. After each soul is captured, he drops it off at the DMV as apparently, any place you think of as being Hell on Earth really is Hell on Earth. Sam is a goofball but tries his best to handle things while the Devil keeps tempting him. **

**Ghost Whisperer: Ever since she was a little girl, Melinda Gordon had the ability to see and talk to spirits. She lives in a small town with her paramedic husband, running an antique store and still has ghosts coming up to her for help. She tries to aid them in completing a task and unfinished business so they can rest in peace, which often has her meeting malovent spirits who still wish harm on the world. **

**Hellboy: Mike Mignola's comic creation was brilliantly brought to life in the 2004 movie. World War II was only a cover for the Great Occult War, ended when Adolf Hitler died in 1953 (yes, '53). But in 1944, the Nazis attempted to summon a demon from Hell to aid them. The ceremony was stopped but not before one creature got through, a child-like demon named Hellboy. Growing, Hellboy would become a tough, cynical, cigar-chomping warrior working for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, battling the various evils the world knows nothing about. He's notable for his red skin, horns he keeps filing down to stubs and his rock-metal right fist named "the Red Right Hand of Doom." **

**Spawn: Probably better to stick to the original Todd McFarlane comic here. Al Simmons was a black ops soldier/assassin who was betrayed on a mission and left to die. He was blown up in an explosion and sent to Hell where a demon offered him a chance to go back. However, it wasn't a fair deal as Simmons was sent back five years later, his body scarred and in a form-fitting costume and discovered his wife was now married to his best friend. Al decided he wouldn't honor the rest of the deal and now battles various evils, human and demon. His cape and chains are controlled by thought and capable of various attacks and other various magical powers. **

**So once again, you want to use, feel free. **


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